I'm sure there have been holes that have changed par, but I can't imagine doing so without a design change. I can see moving a tee up on a short par 4 and making it a par 3 - they wouldn't just change par and leave it as is. They do this at many US Open venues - they shorten a par 5 and make it a difficult par 4.
For the first two hundred years of the sport, they played in open fields and over hedgerows. There wasn't a formal club/course laid in until the 1700s. I guess I have trouble seeing how the sport could have avoided being more flexible than what is being suggested, for decades, if not hundreds of years?
In ball golf course design, it is easy to incorporate a fair challenge to a common par across skill levels by simply adding another set of tees. In disc golf, there are some courses that do this, but nearly all only have two tee positions (in ball golf there can be 4-5). And, given disc golf doesn't have an established course par target (like ball golf's 72), we're going to get all sorts of combinations. That's why we have and will probably always have such a mish-mash of course levels and pars.
Would you then say that disc golf is significantly different than ball golf then and should we consider doing things a little differently because of that?
At major tournaments, the designers/TDs seem to be doing a good job of assigning pars appropriate for the top-level players. A lot of that is by creating temp layouts on ball golf courses and by tightening up landing areas with OB.
Beyond those layouts, designers (if they have the luxury of space) have to decide what they want to be - a tournament-level course, one that is kid-friendly, or something in between? You can accommodate multiple skill levels with different tee/basket locations (if you have the space and can afford to do it), but if you have a wooded course that's going to be more difficult.
It comes down to resources - if designers have plenty of space, plenty of labor, and plenty of money they can put together a course with good pars for multiple skill levels. But, how often do those stars align?
I can, and have, pulled up several NTs that have several holes that birdie for the first twenty to thirty players. Steve regularly posts such data here. I see your point about labor and resources. Since we have limits on these things should we consider doing it differently than ball golf who has unlimited labor and resources?
Of course- in baseball throws are made all the time to very precise locations, but even in batting practice your control is limited compared to throwing accuracy.[/QUOTE]
If throwing a ball is so much easier than hitting one with a stick, and if the supposition is that throwing a disc is so much easier, such that mastery is easier, then why aren't there more world class pitchers, or even third basemen who can pick up a grounder and deliver it on target to first base? If mastery is so easy, I'd think this would be easy to get down quickly?